What to expect with Section 8?

[mikandmari]

We owned rental properties and we preferred Section 8 tenants. This was because tenants took care of the place & paid their portion of the rent, or they would risk losing their voucher. And there is a LONG wait for vouchers! Also, the city's portion of the rent arrived in my mailbox like clockwork.

I would suggest trying to find a place that is privately owned, not the Section 8 complexes (projects).

I'd also suggest meeting with landlords, and letting them see that you are decent (first impressions do count) and telling them you just received your acceptance into the Section 8 program... and would they be willing to accept part of their rent from the city/county/state. This may work out better than just calling & first asking 'do you accept Section 8'.

Another thing (although it's beyond your control)... it helps if the area you're in has Housing Authority inspectors who are NOT nit-picky jerks... landlords don't want to deal with that. And I'm not talking about serious issues like falling ceilings and no hot water.... We had a city inspector who was a big-shot bully and gave us a hard time over every little thing, for example a 12-inch section of missing quarter-round trim along the wall. We ended up not renewing the tenant's lease and sold the house. It was too bad...

[dhmunoz]

Another thing (although it's beyond your control)... it helps if the area you're in has Housing Authority inspectors who are NOT nit-picky jerks... landlords don't want to deal with that. And I'm not talking about serious issues like falling ceilings and no hot water.... We had a city inspector who was a big-shot bully and gave us a hard time over every little thing, for example a 12-inch section of missing quarter-round trim along the wall. We ended up not renewing the tenant's lease and sold the house. It was too bad...

I TOTALLY agree. It is much better to deal with a more lenient inspector, sometimes the tenant doesn't understand that, but it is also to THEIR advantage. If the unit doesn't pass inspection they won't approve it, and it might just be the smallest most nitpicky things that could have been easily fixed. Stressful for the landlord and particularly stressful for the tenant who probably already fell in love with the house and wants it to be approved--and is afraid that they will have to continue looking. I have been lucky to deal to great inspectors whose primary concern is just that the units are clean, safe and operational. The ones that pick over cosmetic things make everything harder for everyone.